About Me
Biography
Katrina MacKinnon is a pianist, piano teacher, singer, and choral director hailing from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, where she studied piano and voice with Dianne Gryba. Katrina holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University where she studied under Dr. Patricia Tao and Dr. Julia Gavrilova, respectively. Additionally, she is an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto.
As a pianist, Katrina has performed in recitals, masterclasses, competitions, and festivals. She appeared as a young artist at both the Orford Summer Academy of Music and the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival. She has played for renowned Canadian pianists such as Jane Coop, André Laplante, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Stéphane Lemelin. She is a multiple time award winner at the Saskatchewan Provincial Music Festival and is committed to continuing the strong tradition of Kiwanis festivals within the province. Katrina’s collaborative work includes accompanying the graduate level choral lab choir at the University of Alberta, accompanying singers in both classical and musical theatre repertoire in Edmonton and Montreal, and playing the piano in the Dolce Piano Trio, a student chamber ensemble with a violinist and cellist.
Katrina has received recognition for her performative and academic work. Most notably, she was awarded the prestigious SSHRC grant from the Government of Canada for her research project exploring intermediate-level piano concerti using Eastern European folk idioms. At McGill, Katrina was awarded the Tomlinson Engagement Award for Mentoring (TEAM), which gave her the opportunity to tutor students in second year music theory classes. Upon graduation from McGill, she was awarded the Bernard Shapiro Prize for excellence over the course of her degree.
As a singer and director, Katrina has been involved singing in choirs across the country, working with many of Canada’s most acclaimed directors. While at the U of A, Katrina sang with the award-winning ensemble the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers. At McGill, she sang with the Schulich Singers, McGill’s elite chamber choir, and the Concert Choir. She also appeared as a soprano in concert with the Montreal professional choir Voces Boreales. In the summer of 2018, she represented the province of Quebec for the Newfoundland tour and Podium performance of the National Youth Choir of Canada. While at McGill, Katrina studied choral conducting and directed two different church choirs at the Newman Centre of McGill and People’s Church of Montreal.
In her spare time, Katrina enjoys reading historical fiction, doing ballet, and having tea parties with friends!
Work experience
Saskatoon, SK, Current
Self-employed
Piano Teacher, Accompanist, Director
Summer Academy for Voice and Piano
Instructor
University of Alberta
Choral Lab Accompanist and Theory Instructor
Newman Centre of McGill
Choir Director
Summary of Credentials
Master of Music in Performance (2020)
Bachelor of Music (2018)
ARCT Royal Conservatory of Music
